Rachel and I are recording episode 100 of Tea or Books? soon and, like episode 50, it’s going to be a special Q&A. So we’d love to hear your questions – and many thanks to those who’ve already sent them in.
Basically, ask anything you like – about books, about tea, about podcasting, about our lives. Just pop them in the comments below, or email teaorbooks@gmail.com
And Rachel’s new mic seemed to go down well on ep99, so hopefully those issues are sorted, at least to an extent… thank you for your patience with us.
P.S. I will be continuing #NovellasInNovember over the weekend, but I’m going to wait until Monday to do a round-up of what I read.
Winifred Holtby, Susan Glaspell, and essays – welcome to episode 99!
Sorry for an unintended long break, but we’re back and Rachel even has a new mic – hopefully has helped with the sound issues, though there may be some teething problems while we get used to it. (I do my best but I am certainly not a professional editor!)
Don’t forget – we would love your questions for episode 100. Do send questions to teaorbooks@gmail.com, on anything you’d like to know about – from books to podcasting to tea to anything else.
In this episode, in the first half we talk about essays – and it is surprising that we haven’t done it before. In the second half, we compare two Persephone books – Winifred Holtby’s The Crowded Street and Susan Glaspell’s Brook Evans.
We’d love to hear from you – and please do review and rate the podcast, which you can find on iTunes, Spotify, or your podcast app of choice. And you can find us on Patreon too.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L Sayers Osebol: Voices from a Swedish Village by Marit Kapla Akenfield by Ronald Blythe Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker The Poor Man by Stella Benson Princes in the Land by Joanna Cannan Murder Included by Joanna Cannan When I Was A Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit Orwell’s Roses by Rebecca Solnit A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit If I May by A.A. Milne Once a Week by A.A. Milne Delight by J.B. Priestley Personal Pleasures by Rose Macaulay Forty-One False Starts by Janet Malcolm
Edith Wharton The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm Notes From No-Man’s Land by Eula Biss Having and Being Had by Eula Biss
Fran Lebowitz
Gloria Steinem Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lorde The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey Wilson Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver
Heartburn by Nora Ephron I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
E.V. Lucas
George Orwell
Max Beerbohm Notes to Self by Emilie Pine Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins Thank Heaven Fasting by E.M. Delafield Fidelity by Susan Glaspell Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson South Riding by Winifred Holtby National Provincial by Lettice Cooper
If you read my blog, I’m almost certain you already know about the Backlisted podcast. ‘Giving new life to old books’ is their tagline, and Andy and John (and editor/producer Nicky) do a wonderful job of discussing many brilliant backlisted titles. They often do authors that Rachel and I have also covered on ‘Tea or Books?’ – our tastes certainly overlap a lot.
I started listening around the time they launched, and I’ve always had a secret dream to be invited as a guest – and was so delighted to be asked onto the episode about Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker. It’s such a brilliant novel, and the best one about twins out there.
Alexandra Pringle (head of Bloomsbury, and once of Virago) had chosen the book and was the other guest, and the four of us had a wonderful time discussing Cassandra at the Wedding. It was every bit as joyful an experience as I’d have hoped. Thanks so much for having me, John and Andy!
You can listen via your podcast app of choice – or on their website, where you’ll find lots of other info.
Nature writing and some favourite novels by prizewinning women – welcome to episode 98!
As mentioned in the podcast – we’d love to hear your questions as we gear up for our hundredth episode. Just email teaorbooks@gmail.com, or put your questions in the comments to this post.
In the first half of the episode, we decide whether or not we like nature writing. In the second half, we have postponed our discussion of The Crowded Street by Winifred Holtby and Brook Evans by Susan Glaspell – instead, Rachel and I both pick three favourite books by women that have won prizes.
Do get in touch if you have any suggestions for topics we should do – and you can find us at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Patreon etc etc. We’d love you to rate and review us, if you can.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
National Provincial by Lettice Cooper South Riding by Winifred Holtby National Velvet by Enid Bagnold Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham The Hours by Michael Cunningham Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Henry Longfellow The Little Friend by Donna Tartt The Secret History by Donna Tartt The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt White Spines by Nicholas Royle Quilt by Nicholas Royle The Uncanny by Nicholas Royle Love, Interrupted by Simon Thomas The Warning Bell by Lynne Reid Banks The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks The Farthest-Away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks The Millstone by Margaret Drabble The Salt Path by Raynor Winn The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn Wild by Cheryl Strayed H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald The Goshawk by T.H. White The Pilgrim Hawk by Glenway Wescott The Pebbles on the Beach by Clarence Ellis The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May Bleaker House by Nell Stevens Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell
John Moore
Adrian Bell The Village by Marghanita Laski Little BoyLost by Marghanita Laski The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski The Village by Marghanita Laski To Bed With Grand Music by Marghanita Laski ToryHeaven by Marghanita Laski Love on the Supertax by Marghanita Laski Home by Marilynne Robinson Gilead by Marilynne Robinson Jack by Marilynne Robinson Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo The Testaments by Margaret Atwood Mother and Son by Ivy Compton-Burnett Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively Injury Time by Beryl Bainbridge Another Part of the Woods by Beryl Bainbridge Sweet William by Beryl Bainbridge Life After Life by Kate Atkinson A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
How do we choose our reading, and E.M. Delafield – welcome to episode 97!
In the first half of the episode, we debate whether to read spontaneously or plan our reading. In the second half, two E.M. Delafield novels vie against each other: Tension, recently reprinted in the British Library Women Writers series, and Thank Heaven Fasting.
Do get in touch if you have any suggestions for future episodes, or questions for the middle section – teaorbooks@gmail.com. You can find us at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, your podcast app of choice etc, and can support the podcast at Patreon.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Consequences by E.M. Delafield The Way Things Are by E.M. Delafield The Solange stories by F Tennyson Jesse
Mrs Alfred Sidgwick The Hills Sleep On by Joanna Cannan A Lion, A Mouse, and a Motor-Car by Dorothea Townshend The GlassWall by E.M. Delafield Love Has No Resurrection by E.M. Delafield The Gap of Time of Jeanette Winterson The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
Barbara Kingsolver Miss Bunting by Angela Thirkell Love at All Ages by Angela Thirkell The Duke’s Daughter by Angela Thirkell Festival at Farbridge by J.B. Priestley The Authority Gap by Mary Ann Sieghart
P.D. James The Shelf by Phyllis Rose Sun City by Tove Jansson
Agatha Christie Opening Night by Ngaio Marsh
Georges Simenon Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk Flights by Olga Tokarczuk Where There’s Love, There’s Hate by Adolfo Bioy Casares and Silvina Ocampo Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Mary Webb Faster! Faster! by E.M. Delafield The War Workers by E.M. Delafield The Crowded Street by Winifred Holtby Brook Evans by Susan Glaspell
In this episode, we ask whether or not offensive books should be republished – you might remember the same conversation happening here on StuckinaBook a while ago, and it was interesting to visit it with Rachel. In the second half, we pit two Barbara Pym novels against each other – Crampton Hodnet and A Glass of Blessings.
Sorry it’s been a while – we actually recorded this a couple of weeks ago but it’s been too hot for me to edit a podcast. I know that doesn’t make sense, but I’m sticking to it.
We’d love to hear from you – you can get in touch at teaorbooks@gmail.com. You can support the podcast on Patreon, find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your podcast app of choice. Do let us know if you have any questions for the middle section, or any topics you’d like us to cover.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Paula Byrne Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne I Ordered a Table for Six by Noel Streatfeild Saplings by Noel Streatfeild Miss Linsey and Pa by Stella Gibbons To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee O, The Brave Music by Dorothy Evelyn Smith Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh Excellent Women by Barbara Pym Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym
Philip Larkin An Academic Question by Barbara Pym A Few Green Leaves by Barbara Pym Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
Walter Pater Good Behaviour by Molly Keane Emma by Jane Austen Tension by E.M. Delafield Thank Heaven Fasting by E.M. Delafield
Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Margery Sharp, Helen Ashton – welcome to episode 95.
In the first half, we take a detour from our usual practice and pit two authors against each other. And it’s two very big hitters – Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf, suggested by my friend Paul.
In the second half, we look at two post-war novels about houses – The Foolish Gentlewoman by Margery Sharp and The Half-Crown House by Helen Ashton.
Do get in touch with us if you have any suggestions or questions – teaorbooks[at]gmail.com. You can find us at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, your podcast app of choice etc. You can also support the podcast at Patreon, from as little as a dollar a month.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are everything by Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf [!] and:
There is a Fortress by Winifred Peck House-Bound by Winifred Peck Bewildering Cares by Winifred Peck Arrest the Bishop by Winifred Peck Summer by Ali Smith Winter by Ali Smith The Knox Brothers by Penelope Fitzgerald Charlotte Mew by Penelope Fitzgerald Gilead by Marilynne Robinson Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner Mapp and Lucia by E.F. Benson Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton The Village by Marghanita Laski Tadpole Hall by Helen Ashton
Joanna at Littlefold by Helen Ashton Yeoman’s Hospital by Helen Ashton The Captain Comes Home by Helen Ashton
Angela Thirkell Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Paula Byrne
Rosamond Lehmann, Antonia White, and authors’ houses – welcome to episode 94!
In the first half of this episode, we do a topic suggested by Gillian – do we care where authors live? That is, do we want to visit their houses – we talk through authors’ houses we’ve visited and those we’d like to visit.
In the second half, we compare two coming-of-age novels: Frost in May by Antonia White and Dusty Answer by Rosamond Lehmann.
Do get in touch if you have suggestions for topics, or questions for the central section – teaorbooks@gmail.com. You can listen above, through Spotify, through your podcast app of choice, or Apple Podcasts. You can support the podcast, and get mini bonus episodes, from as little as one dollar a month at Patreon.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
The Last of Summer by Kate O’Brien The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier No Place Like Home by Beverley Nichols
Jane Austen
Bronte sisters The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell
Stephen Leacock
Virginia Woolf
William Wordsworth This Golden Fleece by Esther Rutter
Robert Burns
Beatrix Potter
Dante
Emily Dickinson
Louisa M. Alcott The Provincial Lady in America by E.M. Delafield
Rudyard Kipling
Thomas Hardy Dead Man’s Folly by Agatha Christie
A.A. Milne
E.M. Delafield
Barbara Comyns
Marilynne Robinson They Knew Mr Knight by Dorothy Whipple As For Me and My House by Sinclair The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith A Very Great Profession by Nicola Beauman Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann Thrown to the Woolfs by John Lehmann The Sincerest Form by E.M. Delafield Olivia by Olivia The Half Crown House by Helen Ashton The Foolish Gentlewoman by Margery Sharp
In the first half, we ask: ‘Do we care what characters are called?’, looking at the strange and ordinary names that characters are given. In the second half, we compare Tove Jansson’s novel – or is it – The Summer Book and short story selection A Winter Book.
As ever, we would love to hear your questions and suggestions to teaorbooks@gmail.com. You can listen to the podcast above, through a podcast app, on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify. You can support the podcast on Patreon, and many thanks to those who do
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Camilla by Frances Burney Pamela by Samuel Richardson Tom Jones by Henry Fielding Tristam Shandy by Laurence Sterne Evelina by Frances Burney The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield The Half Crown House by Helen Ashton Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton The Foolish Gentlewoman by Margery Sharp
P.G. Wodehouse Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp The Gipsy in the Parlour by Margery Sharp The Reading Group by Elizabeth [not Barbara!] Noble A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole The Ballad and the Source by Rosamond Lehmann Patience by John Coates
Charles Dickens
Anthony Trollope A Name to Conjure With by G.B. Stern Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Weather by Jenny Offill Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill Chemistry by Weike Wang
Sarah Crossan My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein Coming Home by Rosamund Pilcher The Secret History by Donna Tartt Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deirdre Madden A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham Sex Education by Janni Visman Yellow by Janni Visman Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo Grief Is The Thing With Feathers by Max Porter
Lanny by Max Porter Vanessa and Her Sisters by Priya Parmar Lettice Delmer by Susan Miles Hello Friend We Missed You by Richard Owain Roberts
Tomas Tranströmer Fair Play by Tove Jansson Sun City by Tove Jansson The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson DustyAnswer by Rosamond Lehmann Frost in May by Anthonia White
Bernadine Evaristo, Kate Atkinson, and clothes – welcome to episode 92.
In the first half of the episode, Rachel and I discuss clothes in books – do we care what characters wear? I forgot to mention, but do check out Moira’s excellent Clothes in Books blog for lots of this sort of thing.
In the second half, we are unusually modern – comparing Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo.
Do get in touch with us if you have any suggestions or questions – teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – and you can support the podcast at Patreon. Many thanks to those who do!
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
The Flick by Annie Baker John by Annie Baker A Winter Book by Tove Jansson A Name to Conjure With by G.B. Stern For All We Know by G.B. Stern
Alan Ayckbourn Harvey by Mary Chase Speaking of Jane Austen by Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern More Talk of Jane Austen by Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern Flowers for Mrs Harris by Paul Gallico Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield Miss Pettigrew Lives For ADay by Winifred Watson Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier High Wages by Dorothy Whipple Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
‘Miss Brill’ by Katherine Mansfield The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins Letter From New York by Helene Hanff Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert Jenkins Emma by Jane Austen Daisy’s Aunt by E.F. Benson Mapp and Lucia by E.F. Benson Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp Ashcombe by Cecil Beaton
Edith Olivier Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor A Winter Book by Tove Jansson The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
